by Rachel Lynn Aldrich Posted 1/02/19, 11:53 am

Chinese President Xi Jinping in a policy speech on Wednesday called for Taiwan to unify with China, saying no one could stop the trend toward unification and that independence for the island nation is not an option. “We are willing to create a vast space for peaceful unification, but we will never leave any room for any sort of Taiwan independence separatist activities,” he said.

International
| Referendums garner broad pro-family support

by Angela Lu Fulton Posted 11/27/18, 01:47 pm

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Three referendums supporting marriage between one man and one woman passed overwhelmingly in Saturday elections in Taiwan. The votes show that most citizens still hold traditional values even though the country’s highest court moved toward legalizing same-sex marriage in 2017.

Missions
| The enduring legacy of missionary George Leslie Mackay

by Angela Lu Fulton Posted 9/17/18, 10:03 am

Up on a hill above the Tamsui River, past the renovated Fort San Domingo, stands Aletheia University, a quiet campus filled with leafy trees, an imposing neo-Gothic church with a 32-foot-tall pipe organ, and two pointed arches at its entrance. Walk through the arches, follow a winding stone path in a manicured garden, and cross a bridge over a koi pond, and you’ll reach a red brick schoolhouse, a blend of Western and Eastern styles of architecture.

Onize Ohikere | 5/22/18, 11:14 am

Several global airlines conceded this week to Beijing’s demand they refer to Taiwan as part of China, rather than a separate country. In January, the Civil Administration of China published a notice on its website requiring foreign airlines operating in the country to stop referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau as independent countries. The communist regime followed up on April 25 with a letter to 36 foreign airlines, reiterating demands they refer to Taiwan as part of China.

Onize Ohikere | 2/07/18, 10:15 am

Rescue workers in Taiwan on Wednesday continued to search for trapped survivors after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake killed at least four people and left 82 others missing. The quake struck about 13 miles from the coastal city of Hualien, injuring more than 200 people. Taiwan’s official Central News Agency confirmed the casualties and said more than 40 of the missing people were trapped in the Yunmen Cuiti 12-story apartment building. Chen Tzai-Tung, a worker with the government disaster center, said the leaning building continued to tilt, making it unsafe for rescuers to enter.

Lynde Langdon | 2/06/18, 02:48 pm

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook Taiwan on Tuesday, killing two hotel employees and injuring 144 other people, officials said. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake’s epicenter was 13 miles northeast of Hualien on the island’s east coast. The ground floor of the Marshal Hotel in Hualien district caved in, and people were believed to be trapped inside, according to the Central News Agency. Taiwanese media also said another hotel in the area was tilting.

Angela Lu Fulton | 1/30/18, 09:54 pm

TAIPEI, Taiwan—On a sweltering summer day with a heat index of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, a man and a woman in formal attire posed on the steps of Shan-Chih Hall in Tatung University. The train of the young woman’s blue gown fanned behind her as her fiancé—perhaps near heat exhaustion in his three-piece suit—held her waist, obeying the direction of the photographer.

June Cheng | 12/01/17, 04:41 pm

For the first time, the Chinese government on Nov. 28 convicted a Taiwanese citizen of “subverting state power,” sentencing activist Lee Ming-cheh to five years in prison. His crime? Sharing articles, books, and videos critical of the Chinese Communist Party with Chinese acquaintances. This, China claims, was evidence that he and a Chinese partner were trying to bring about a “Western color revolution” in China.

Angela Lu Fulton | 11/29/17, 04:33 pm

Thanksgiving at bars: On Thanksgiving night, I tucked into the holiday staples: turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin pie. Yet instead of eating with extended family on a long wooden table in the warmth of home, I was at On Tap, an expat bar in Taipei, with my husband and a friend, as a rerun of Monday Night Football played on a large TV. The food was mediocre at best, but it’s hard to complain: Turkeys are hard to find in Asia since they need to be imported from America, so getting to eat the foreign bird at all was nostalgic enough.

Kiley Crossland | 6/30/17, 02:12 pm

China is demanding that the United States cancel a $1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan announced Thursday. The deal runs counter to Washington’s commitment to a “one-China” policy and severely damages China’s sovereignty and security interests, according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang. China considers the self-governing island to be a part of its territory and insists it will eventually be reunified, by force if needed. Kang said Friday the United States should immediately stop the sale to avoid harming relations with Beijing. Taiwan welcomed the sale as a show of U.S.